Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dairyairy]

Stores and restaurants, (not just outback), all along that main street are closed. We were there today and the All-American Diner was closed along with many shops up and down the street. They weren't closed for the holidays; they're closed for good. What's going on in Itaewon? Does anyone know? Please, no drunken guesses.

[cj1976]

[IPayInCash]

Meh, I could care less. I visit Itaewon once a year. I didn't come here to emulate my Western lifestyle, hang out with Westerners 100% of the time, and eat burgers and tacos every day, I came here to live in a foreign country.

[creeper1]

[Squire]

It would be a shame if Itaewon sold out and became identical to every other neighbourhood in the entire country. I don't go there often either but it's a good place to visit now and then

[postfundie]

[IPayInCash]

[optik404]

Ya'll know there are bars where you don't have to order side dishes.

Like CJ said, big businesses are probably buying out the leases. Same thing happened in Hongdae, Sinsa, etc. Annoying but that's how the world works I guess.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

[hogwonguy1979]

All American Diner moved down the street in like April, think there is still a sign there mentioning that.

[War Eagle]

Really, if you haven't noticed this coming for quite awhile now, your not very observent. I go to Itaewon about once every 2-3 months and its very obvious. All of the stores along the main drag are large corporate stores now. That wasn't the case just a couple years ago.

Big business sees $$$ and nothing will stop them. You can kiss Itaewon goodbye, bars included, very soon. Some restaurants will survive, if they can afford the higher rent prices.

Fortunately, Haebongcheon is safe for the time being. It will be the new Itaewon.

[furtakk]

I live down the street in Bogwangdong and I'm surprised how quickly stuff changes. I only go out a handful of times a month, but I'm always shocked about the speed of change, especially behind the Hamilton. I hang out there once or twice a month, and every time there's a handful of new restaurants / bars.

I don't really care about the main strip. Between Noksapyeong and Itaewon has always been more shopping rather than restaurants. Personally, I prefer (and it's way more convenient) Nike, Adidas, ABC Mart, etc over XXL, 'Big size,' and crappy souvenir shops. However, I hope places like What the Book and High Street don't run into issues. As for behind the Hamilton, I think it will continue to become more and more expensive. If bars or restaurants offer some kind of unique experience, I don't mind paying extra, but if it's just blah blah cocktail bar, please stay south of the river.

I think the next biggest change is going to be hooker hill. I wouldn't be surprised to see it completely cleaned up in a couple of years.

[augustine]

I live in an Itaewon-dong and rarely stray too far from it these days. This is no secret; like others have said, it's being gutted and the general area behind Hamilton might be the trendiest spot in Korea right now. I blew a ton of money at Prost and some other place back there the other weekend, 8k a beer or some crazy shit like that. A lot of flashy spots have also abounded for a while now between Itaewon and Hangangjin but there's a lot more traffic around there than there used to be. Though, that area seems like more of a classy day spot for younger, unemployed Koreans to hang out around and waste their parents money on $12 glasses of lemonade, or max out their card at one of those overpriced fusion restaurants, before hitting the club and making up the damage by floozying around for free cocktails. There's a lot of skirt in that area during the daytime. But, maybe it will make daisydairy happy to know that Taco Bell is now serving... Chalupas! Baja! Yeah, baby, introduced this week, unless I missed something. Poor man food upgrade.

[dairyairy]

[RangerMcGreggor]

Gentrification happened